


Burned into my skin

by luckydip



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rescue Missions, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21837664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckydip/pseuds/luckydip
Summary: The itchy feeling on his right arm that has been building all day doesn’t fade, growing steadily more insistent as Harvey gets home and falls straight into bed. The prickling sensation keeps him from falling asleep even after the day they’d had.
Relationships: Harvey Kinkle/Nicholas Scratch
Comments: 15
Kudos: 259
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Burned into my skin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scatteredmoonlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatteredmoonlight/gifts).



> Hi scatteredmoonlight. This was an entirely new fandom for me - but your soulmark prompt was fascinating so I binged the series and hopefully did it some justice! Hope you have a great Yuletide. Thank you so much to S for the beta.

The itchy feeling on his right arm that has been building all day doesn’t fade, growing steadily more insistent as Harvey gets home and falls straight into bed. The prickling sensation keeps him from falling asleep even after the day he'd had.

After tossing and turning for a while, and desperate to get some rest, Harvey finally gives into the urge to scratch. As soon as his fingers touch the area he realises that something is wrong and flicks on the bedside light to take a look. The skin on his forearm is dry and flaky in a way that it hadn’t been when he got into bed.

Harvey gently rubs at the skin and the top layer comes off in his fingers to reveal something underneath. As soon as he recognizes what it is a cold feeling washes over him and Harvey keeps rubbing at the area, pushing away the flaky sections in the hope of removing it.

Suddenly wide awake, Harvey runs to the bathroom, grabs a washcloth, runs it under the tap and starts to scrub at his arm but with no success. No matter how hard he tries to get rid of it, the word ‘Nicholas’ is burned across his skin in flowing script.

What the hell did it mean? It had to be magic – but Harvey didn’t understand. Was Nick trying to communicate? With him? But then why Harvey – and not Sabrina? The Dark Lord was supposed to be back in hell stored inside Nick’s body. So maybe Nick didn’t know this was happening, but it still didn’t explain why this was happening to Harvey.

Throughout all of these thoughts Harvey couldn’t stop staring at the writing on his arm. He briefly glances at his bed but he knows there is no chance of him getting to sleep now. The idea that someone, or something, could alter his body in this way is really unnerving. The thought that the writing may be only the start is enough get his adrenaline running again.

He needs to talk to someone about what is going on. Throwing his clothes back on, he pauses to listen for any sign of movement in the house. Dad’s work in the mine normally means that he sleeps early and like the dead, but Harvey doesn't want to take any chances. Moving quickly, just in case tonight is the exception, Harvey creeps through the house, grabs his sneakers from the cupboard, slips out of the front door, and races towards the edge of town.

Standing outside Spellman Mortuary, Harvey gives a wry smile. A year ago he would have laughed at the idea of coming into the Spellman house voluntarily, never mind for answers. But a year ago he hadn’t stood with Theo and Roz and held back the armies of hell. Seems like that changes a person.

He knocks on the door and waits. There are lights on downstairs, so he knows that someone is up. After a few moments the door opens a crack and Sabrina’s Aunt Hilda’s face appears.

“Harvey?” She looks out behind him, as if checking for someone else. “It’s a bit late for a visit, my love. Sabrina is asleep.”

“I know. I need to speak to you.”

“Could it wait until morning? It’s been a stressful day.” Hilda pauses. “Well, you would know that.”

Harvey yanks up his sleeve and reveals the writing on his arm. “I know, but this just appeared and I don’t know what it means.”

Hilda’s eyes widen at the words even as she tries to hide it from him. “Well. Well, you better come in then. Sit in the kitchen. I’ll get us a cup of tea.”

Harveys follows her through to the kitchen. The house is busy: there are people everywhere, most of them teenagers, curled up and sleeping on the floor or furniture. One of them stirs as Harvey walks past, but Hilda mutters something and waves a hand; the girl falls straight back to sleep.

Hilda shrugs as she catches Harvey watching her. “I thought we could use the privacy.” She puts the kettle on the stove and pulls a couple of mugs out of the cupboard. “So, tell me, when did that happen?”

“Tonight. It was itching all afternoon but it didn’t turn into this,” Harvey waved his free hand at the writing, “until after I’d gone to bed. You know what it is, don’t you?”

“That… well, yes. That is a soulmark.” Hilda puts two mugs of tea on the counter and sits down next to him.

“What’s a soulmark?”

“A soulmark is a sign that two witches or warlocks are destined to be together. It tells you who you are meant to be with.” She takes a sip from her cup. “Magic has always been a bit literal like that.”

“Together…romantically?” he asks.

“Uh-huh.” Hilda takes hold of Harvey’s arm and looks closely at the writing again.

“But I’m not a warlock.”

“Mmm…I’ve never heard of one on a witchhunter either.” Hilda gives an awkward laugh as she probes the edges of the mark. “But that is a soulmark all right. A warlock and a witch hunter,. Bit of a regular Romeo and Juliet, the pair of you.”

“I’m not a witch hunter.” His family may have been years ago, but that wasn’t Harvey. He may not be sold on all witches but he knew he could never do anything to hurt Sabrina and her Aunts. And Nick? Harvey has no problem admitting that he found Nick attractive, but he was also arrogant and smooth talking – more like the jocks they made fun of at school than would date.

And then he'd handed Nick’s unconscious body over to Lilith to take to hell. “But wait, why now? If this means that Nick and I are supposed to be together, why wait until he got sent to hell to tell me?” Sabrina had talked about how cruel magic could be, but this was the first time Harvey was experiencing it.

“Well, there is a theory that soulmates are actually far more common than soulmarks, but because most witches meet and marry their soulmate anyway, the mark doesn’t ever appear. The mark only shows up when the mates have been separated or something alters their path together.”

“Like if one sends the other to hell?” Harvey finishes for her. He feels sick to his stomach. The universe waited to tell him that he had a soulmate until after he handed him over to the Queen of Hell, stuck with the devil trapped inside him?

“You didn’t send Nick to hell, my love. He made a choice. A very brave choice.”

“We should have stopped him.”

“And let the Dark Lord loose?” Hilda points out. “You’re a mortal, Harvey, You and your friends would have been the first ones he killed after he escaped from the Acheron.”

“I know, but – ” If they’d known about this then would Nick have still sacrificed himself? Deep down he knows the answer is yes, just this time it would have been for Harvey instead of… “Oh my god, Sabrina.”

“What about Sabrina?”

“Nick and Sabrina, they’re in love. She’s going to hate me.” Harvey pauses. “Does anyone ignore a soulmark?”

Hilda stirs her tea. “Drink up, you’ll feel better.” She waits for Harvey to take a few more sips before she carries on. “The most devout witches among us would never consider it. They believe the mark is a sign of the Dark Lord’s wishes and we all swear to follow his desires.”

“But not all?” The thought calms Harvey. Maybe the mark is more of a suggestion. Maybe he isn’t going to suddenly become brainwashed into falling in love with someone he barely knows.

“Sometimes. I knew a girl at the Academy, Patience, who ignored her soulmark because she was convinced she would find love on her own and not just blindly follow what the Dark Lord said."

“And did she?”

Hilda shrugs. “She left the country centuries ago and no one has heard from her since. Her soulmate is still here – he married someone else, but I’m not sure how much he loved her. Or anyone, if I’m quite honest.”

Harvey wraps his hands around his mug and tries not to think about it. He takes another swig of his drink to avoid answering.

“Oh, my dear.” Hilda puts a hand on his shoulder, “Harvey, you are 16 years old. You have your whole life ahead of you. Maybe this is meant to be, maybe it isn’t. Maybe the mark will disappear when we get Nick back.”

“Does that ever happen?”

“Nothing is impossible. Are you feeling any better?” Hilda asks.

Harvey thinks about it for a moment. “Better, thank you.” And he did. The panic has faded and the adrenaline is wearing off. Starting to feel tired, Harvey fights back a yawn and leans against the counter.

Hilda reaches forward to take his mug and Harvey feels his eyes start to get heavy before it hits him. “You drugged me.”

With an apologetic smile, Hilda removes the mug and slides a cushion over for Harvey to rest his head on. “Just a little something to help you relax. It’ll wear off by morning.”

He can’t find it in himself to be angry with her; instead, he stops fighting and gives into the pull of sleep. As his eyes slide shut he finds himself thinking of Nick, and promising that he will help get him back.

*

Harvey wakes the next morning to find that the coven have already met and formed a plan for how to get Nick back. They are not prepared to let Harvey go with them.

“You’re mortal, Harvey.” Sabrina had tried to let him down gently. You can’t come back once you cross to the afterlife. You need to stay here.”

“I need to help,” Harvey had argued, but the entire coven had backed Sabrina.

“And you will. I need you, Roz, and Theo to stay here with Ambrose and protect Greendale. If we force a portal into Hell then you need to make sure that nothing else comes through. Exactly the same way you did yesterday. It’s a big job.”

So Harvey stays, his hands gripping his shotgun tightly as they monitor the portal that the coven had used to get to Hell. He stares into the fire that burned beyond it, watching and waiting for anything to try and escape.

Ambrose stands behind them, eyes closed and chanting, the same way Nick had when he had come to protect Harvey’s family from the Greendale Thirteen. Harvey had been so angry back then, the grief of losing Tommy still so fresh that he had hated Nick on sight. Now he appreciated some of the danger that Nick had put himself in, something that Harvey had seen him do several times this past year. It was information that Harvey isn’t entirely sure what to do with.

They wait for hours. None of them is willing to take a break in case something attacks, although Roz does insist on getting a snack and drink for Ambrose to help him keep his strength up. No one was keen to argue with someone who could see the future, so they kept their weapons aimed at the portal as Ambrose refuelled.

It is late afternoon when the coven stumbles back through. Relief floods through Harvey as he sees Nick with them, lying unconscious across Sabrina’s shoulders. He darts forward to help and take the weight as Sabrina works with the rest of the witches to close the portal.

The second the realms are separate and they are all left standing in the woods, Sabrina’s Aunt Zelda starts barking orders. Harvey keeps Nick in his arms as they carry him back to the Spellman Mortuary where Nick is taken from him and disappears upstairs with Zelda and Sabrina.

So Harvey waits. Again. He feels so helpless, sitting in the kitchen as Hilda bustles around the house, but no one will take his offers to do anything. Hilda lays a sympathetic hand on his shoulder as she walks past. “Do you want to go home? We can phone when we know something.”

“No.” Harvey may not be able to help, but he is not leaving. Not until he can speak to Nick.

Hilda doesn’t respond but she leaves a drink and a sandwich the next time she walks by, silently sliding them onto the counter next to him.

Zelda and Sabrina finally appear in the kitchen, looking tired but relieved. It comforts him.

“How did it go, sweetie?” Hilda asks, wrapping an arm around Sabrina, who leans into the touch with a sigh.

“The Dark Lord is gone – still trapped in Hell. Lilith saw to that, at least.”

Harvey slips out of his seat and heads out of the kitchen. Hilda catches his eye and he points up the stairs. “I’m just gonna – ”. She smiles and nods before turning back to Sabrina.

Nick is lying in one of the spare rooms, eyes closed and skin pale. Harvey pulls up a chair and sits next to the bed. Nick's arms are under the covers: Harvey resists the urge to pull the sheets aside and see if he has a matching mark. Would it even be in the same place? That is something Harvey hadn’t thought to ask Hilda.

He’s staring so hard at Nick’s covered arms that Harvey doesn’t notice him wake up until Nick speaks. “Kinkle.”

“Hey.” Suddenly Harvey has no idea what to say. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ll live.” Nick shifts and then grimaces. "Tired more than anything. Housing the Dark Lord is hard work. Who knew? Not to be rude, but it’s been a long day. Why are you here?”

“I wanted to check that you were ok.”

“Sabrina could have told you that.”

“Yeah.” Harvey nods, fiddling with his sleeve. “I needed to talk to you.”

Nick rubs his eyes and settles back against the covers. “Sabrina and I broke up, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“What?”

“I got close to her because the Dark Lord asked me to. It broke her trust no matter what happened after that.”

Harvey shakes his head in disbelief. “You just got out of _hell_ and think I’m here for that?”

Nick shrugs. “I don’t know. You hate me, mortal, remember? What else is there?”

Harvey isn’t sure if it offends him that Nick thinks he would come and see him fresh out of hell to ask if he is still dating Sabrina. It probably isn’t the right time for this conversation, but, since Nick is asking, Harvey rolls up his sleeve and holds out his arm for Nick to see.

Nick’s jaw drops open in shock and he pushes himself up and forward. “Is that a soulmark?”

Harvey nods. “Yeah.”

Nick reaches out for it and then pauses. “Can I?”

“Sure.”

Nick takes his hand and runs a finger over the mark. The second he touches it, Harvey gasps as it flares with warmth. Without tearing his gaze from it, Nick asks, “How long?”

“Since Lilith took you.” Harvey reaches over for Nick with his spare arm. “Do you have one as well?” The mark’s reaction to Nick’s touch clears any doubt that it is Nick that it refers to, but Harvey now has to know if he is the only one.

“Hang on.” With a quick squeeze of Harvey’s arm, Nick pulls back and rolls up his own sleeve. As soon as he sees the edge of black writing, Harvey takes hold of Nick’s arm and pushes the fabric out of the way to reveal his own name.

He feels Nick’s sharp intake of breath at his touch and glances up. “Does it hurt?”

Nick shakes his head. “No. It’s just… but you’re mortal. A _witchhunter_.”

“My ancestors don’t define me.”

“Maybe Edward Spellman was right,” Nick mutters as he stares down at his arm. “That witches and mortals should start to mix.”

“Look, I don’t know. A year ago I didn’t know that witches even existed.” Harvey shifts his chair closer to the bed without letting go of Nick’s arm. He’s been through every emotion possible in the last couple of days and just needs to let it out. “All I know is that someone is telling us that we are supposed to be together. And I don’t know what to do – ”

His sentence and train of thought are cut off by Nick pulling him forward and covering his lips with his own. After a brief moment of shock Harvey starts to kiss him back. His mark clearly approves of this turn of events and thrums with warmth, sparking with heat where Nick’s fingers are covering it.

Nick groans and then pulls back, leaving Harvey a little lightheaded. “Sorry, I just really wanted to see how that felt.”

“Pretty good.”

Nick slips back against the bed, clearly starting to fade. “Look, we need to talk about this, but I really need to sleep.” His eyes are starting to slip closed. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

Nick flaps a hand at the bed next to him. “Do you wanna?”

“Sure.” Slightly awkwardly, Harvey sits on the edge of the bed. Nicks wraps his fingers around Harvey’s forearm, and slumps against Harvey as he drops out. Something about the situation calms Harvey, and he leans back against the headboard and closes his eyes. Whatever these marks mean, at least Nick is back in Greendale. 

They can work it out together.


End file.
